Chapter 195: Three Hours [Bonus Chapter 9/10]

"Tell Karrakas and Akira to make sure nothing comes within thirty meters of me," Lukas said. "If something does get within that range, they should leave it. They shouldn’t intercept it, but let it come."

All this was so simple. All he needed to do was make sure no beasts came within thirty meters, and at the end of the three hours, he’d automatically clear the quest.

Melody looked at him. "And if something does get through?"

"Leave it for me."

"Is this a quest?"

"Yes."

She didn’t ask anything else. She jogged forward, the sand shifting under her boots as she closed the gap between herself and the front pair.

Karrakas heard her coming and glanced back, his expression souring immediately.

He slowed down just enough for her to draw level with him, his eyes already moving past her to where Lukas was walking alone thirty meters behind.

"Why did you leave him?" he asked, a frown on his face.

Melody kept pace with him. "He has a message for you two."

She relayed it exactly as Lukas had given it. To keep a thirty meter boundary, and leave anything that crossed it for them to handle.

Karrakas clenched his jaw. "Did he leave out part of what this class change quest actually requires? Is this part of the quest?" He looked at her directly. "Because if he withheld information from me when I agreed to guide him through this—"

"He didn’t," Melody said. "He wants to do this to take the pressure off you and Akira so you can focus on keeping him on course. If you’re always turning back to fight, there’s a chance you could make a mistake when you turn back around."

"What if you make a slight change, and it ends up diverging from the straight line the farther we go?" Melody asked. "That’s what Lukas is worried about. He wants us to try this for the first three hours. If it doesn’t work, then we can return to the earlier arrangement."

Karrakas exhaled, thinking about it. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Akira glanced at him from his other side. "Trust Lukas," she said simply. "He doesn’t do things for no reason."

Karrakas exhaled through his nose. Inside, even he had to admit the idea had merit. He was quiet for a few seconds before speaking.

"Fine," he said. "Thirty meters. Nothing will cross it from our end."

Melody nodded and turned back, jogging to close the distance to Lukas.

She fell into step beside him.

"He agreed," she said.

"Alright." Lukas nodded. "Let’s see what the next three hours would bring."

The words had barely finished leaving his mouth when three sickly beams tore towards them from the sand ahead of them.

Karrakas dropped to the left, and Akira dropped to the right. Both beams passed through the space they’d been walking a few seconds later and continued behind them without losing speed.

However, the third beam had been aimed directly at the two in the back.

Melody had already anticipated this, throwing up a [Hex Shield] the moment she’d seen the beam, then stacked a second directly over the first, layering the cursed energy into a double barrier between the two of them and the incoming beam.

The beam hit the outer shield, splashing against it before dissipating into the air with a low hiss.

Lukas had slowed his pace but hadn’t stopped walking. His feet kept moving, slower than before, but forward.

Ahead, the sand broke open in three places.

The Deathstalker Scorpions came out of it, their shells gleaming under the sun, stingers already rising for a second charge.

Akira fired without waiting.

The [Death Bolt] crossed the gap in an instant and caught the closest scorpion at the head joint.

The necrosis moved immediately, spreading through the shell and into the body beneath it in a dark, fast ring. The beast took two steps and fell, its legs locking as the rot finished its work.

The other two split apart, angling away from each other and firing again.

Melody kept the shield up, watching both beams track wide of Lukas and dissipate in the open air.

Karrakas drew his bow and released.

The arrow hit the second scorpion through the side of its head, and it dropped without a sound.

Akira’s next bolt hit the third scorpion half a second later, the necrotic energy blooming out from the impact point until the beast dropped dead.

Two of the corpses had already begun to rot from the [Death Bolt] damage, the shells softening and darkening as the necrosis continued its work.

Akira turned away from it. This was why she didn’t like using [Death Bolt]. It made the corpse unusable.

The third corpse had fallen several meters away to the side of their straight line. Karrakas looked at it for a few seconds before deciding to abandon it.

The most important thing right now was keeping to a straight line, not farming beast corpses, so they kept walking.

Lukas smiled to himself. None of the three scorpions had come within thirty meters of him.

And so they kept walking, an hour passing in relative quiet. Of course, they faced the occasional beast that Karrakas and Akira handled before it became a problem.

But as they made their way across the desert, they began feeling the effects of the heat.

Lukas noticed the dryness in his throat first, then heard Melody swallow beside him.

Ahead of them, Karrakas had already reached into his spatial ring. They all followed without needing to discuss it, pulling out their water bottles and drinking as they walked, not slowing or stopping.

The water helped immediately, quenching their thirst.

Karrakas glanced back at Lukas and Melody as he capped his bottle, gave them a single nod to confirm that they were still keeping to the same pace, then turned forward again.

Melody looked down.

She could see that Lukas’ feet had gone red from the ankle down from the prolonged exposure to the heat of the sands.

She watched him take another step, then another, his stride unchanged.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly. "Your legs..."

"I’m fine." Lukas smiled without looking at her. "I’ve stopped noticing the pain for some time now."

She wasn’t entirely sure she believed him, but she said nothing more.

Ahead of them, the ground shifted, then it exploded.

Something huge tore free of the sand in front of Karrakas and Akira, throwing red grains in every direction as it rose to its full height.

"Basilisk!" Karrakas yelled immediately. "Do not look it in the eyes!"